Signaling device for automobiles.



1. K. BURLEIGH & L. v. WHITE.- SIGNALING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8 1915- Patented Jan. 23,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- l. K. BURLEIGH 6: L. V. WHITE.

SIGNALING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILED JULY 3.19- I 1,213,456. Patented Jan. 23, i917 I I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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BG it known that we,

United States, residing atKalamazoo, in -',the county of Kalamazoo and State of I ,Michigan, have nvented certain new and.

useful lm'pi ovem'ents for Automobi in Signaling Devices les, of which the following is aqspeeification.

'This invention relates to improvements in-.-.signaling 'deyicesfor automobiles and -.,;to provide-an mproved signaling demice,

vehicle for indicating the direction which saidv vehicleis about to t'u'rn.

similar vehicles.

- The objects o f this invention are: First,

to be carriedby an automobile or similar in ond,'-to',.proyide animproved signaling de-,

vice having ahind. said openings,

. display and. ,conceal the -same.-

pl'ay; openings senibling said parts in relation to each other. i

I .Furtlmpzobjeez'ts, and objects'relating to economies ,of nianufacture and detailsof construction w ll definitely appear from the: detailed description to 'follow.

, .tion.thedevices; andmeans described inv accomplish the objects of our inventhe, following. speci'fica'tion.

The invention'fs clearly defined and point'ed'o'ut inthe claims. A ,str-ucture constituting a preferred embodiment-of our invention isclearly illus trated intlre accompanying drawings 'forming a part of this specification, in which:

yFigurel is a diagrammaticview showing a wiringfscheme forour signaling device.

.Fig. 1,I.is a view in front elevationof our signal','one,of the shutters being actuated tobdisplay 1th left signal, the legends concealed-by the other. shutters being indicated by dotted lines.

A a h r. I part bei g a w 1 fie positions as; n

' Fig.

. a sectional View, on 'a line corresponding to jthe tirregularliine; of Fig.

' 'srsnarime-nnvro n ronnnromoninnsi-w; v .e

J AMES K. linnnn sn plate together.

' on the line 8+8 of IV, showing in de-.

' scribed; ,The plate 6 "tive to each other III 18- a view in front-.elevationlofthe body plate, the.

faGB P1ate. being removed, and the shutters hown in the same Fig. 11..- ';Fig.. IV is" ,practice,

V, showing which the respective legends in detail the parts carried by the rear side of the body plate, the parts being shown in the same relative positions as in Figs. II and III. F1g. V is an enlarged, vertical. sectional view, on the line 5-5 of Figs. II

and IV. Fig. VI is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail, sectional view,',,ona line corresponding to the line 66 of Figs. II and IV, showing in detail the method of mounting the signal on the universal bracket so as to secure the casing and face detail, sectional view, on the line 7%?" of P1gS."III' and IV, showing in detail the finger on the armature lever extendingfbeneath the shutter to actuate the'sanie. Fig. VIII is an enlarged. detail, sectional view,

tail the pivotal mounting of one of the armature levers. Fig. IX is a view in side elevation of the signal and bracket showing the bracketin position to be attachedto a vertical surface.

In the drawing. similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and the sectional views are Fig. VII, is an enlarged;

Specification of Letters Patent. P ten d 1;. pp ication filed July 8,1915. Serial No. 38,524.

taken looking in the direction of the littlc arrows at the ends of the. sectional lines. I

Consideringthe numbered parts of the draw1ng,'our improved signal compriscswi face plate 1 having symmetrically arranged open ngs 2 at the right and left, and-an opening 3 toward the top of the faceplate.

Said face plate is provided with a rearwardly-directed circumferential ""tlange I I and a rod 5, of spring metal is'disposed within said fiangeias shown in Fig. V; for

will presently be "deis disposed behind'the faceplate 1 fitting within the rearwardlyturned flange l. as shown in Figs. IV and V.

the purpose which Plate 6 is provided-with a cut away'portion.

7 at the bottom thereof, for a purpose which will presently be described. The plate 6 and the face plate 1 areheld in position rela- "by means of the bolt, 8

passingthrough both of them'and carrying f a spacing sleeve!) which, together with the spring rod 5. holds the face plate 1 andthe plate 6 in spaced relation to each' other. In

in line witlrthe openings grounds 2''2 on Left and upon theplate' 6 2-2, we for n red back we make the face plate white and;

.Right appear in white letters. We also form a red back ground 3 in. line with the opening 3 on which the legend Htop" ap pears in white letters. These pa'rticular colors, legends and arrangements are not; essential to our invention. but we use them because the combination of red and white is the usual danger signal. and the openings are so arranged on the face plate that the effect of a Semaphore is produced whenever one of the shutters is actuated.-

The triangular shaped shutters 10 have their" inner ends pivotally mounted on the sleeve 9, as shown in Figs. lll and Y. so that these shutters can turn on said sleeve so as to move from their normal position in front of the corresponding display openings in the face plate. \l'e contemplate any means for actuating said shutters as within the spirit of our invention. but t he electromagnetic means here shown and described. we have found to be very suitable for this purpeze.

Solenoids 11-11 are carried by brackets l2-- 12 which are attached to the plate 6 by the bolts 1313. A bridge 1-l has the ends 15, thereof. bent at an angle and secured to the brackets 12. and provided with grooves 1616 in which the wires connected to the solenoids are clamped by the bra kets. The pivot pins 21'21 are in'ovided with the shoulders 18 and each pin is mounted with its forward end projecting through an opening in plate 6. The fin-ward end of the pin is upset and shoulder 18 rests on the rear face of plate 3. The. armature levers 24 are provided with ear 2-? through which the pivot pins 21 pass so that the levers are pivotally lnounted on pins 21 Screws 23 are threaded into the ends of pins 21 so as to keep the arn'iature lever from being displaced from said pins. The ends of the armature levers extend over the solenoids 11 and act as armaturcs therefor. "The inner ends of the armature levers :24 are provided with laterally extending fingers which extend through slots 2t32(3 formed in the plate 0 beneath the shoulders 10' which are forn'ied on the shutters JO at points near the pivots thereof. so that, when either one of the armature levers is actuated.

the correspoluling ,shutter will he lifted to 7' pivoted in the bracket 35 secured to plate 6:

Guides itt-3t are secured to the. front face of the plate (3 by bolts 37 and provided with forwardly directed flanges 38 and 3? respectively. the shutter 40 being guided for vertithercof, engages beneath thtylever 33.

cal movement between the vertical flanges 3S-I S. Said sluitter {Q is provided with a -39 act as stops to limit the upward movement of the shutters 1t), astdearly" appears from Fig. ll]. 'The lever ,33 is provided with a curved 'lulcrum-elul 34 which extends beneath the finger 41 so that when the armature 3] is actuated, the shutter 40 will be lifted to display the legend Stop through the opening 3 in'the face plate. 'l'hese, parts are inclosed by a casing 43 having a forwardly directed llange. H which tits around the rearwardly directed flange 4; of the face plate 1 so that the parts are all inclosed in a tight easing. .\'curved bar 45. of spring metal, is disposed within the flange 40f the face plate and to the rear of the plate (5. The spring tension of bar 45 muses it to press outwardly against the flange 4. to hold it taut and to keep the face plate from warping out of shape. This bar 45 also gives sullicient stock for the screws 46 which pass through the flanges -l and H and into the bar 15 to fasten the casing and the face plate together. Anv opening 44' is provided in the bottom of the casing so that the dust and dirt which sifts into the interior of the signal will pass out through this opening. It is for this reason that the cut-away portion T is' provided in the lower part of the plate 6 so as to allow the dust and dirt to pass from the front of the -casingout through" the opening 4-4.

The signal is carried by a bracket having upwardly extending arms 48 through the upper ends of which bolts 50 extend and screw into the bar. Spring washers it) are interposed between the ends of the arms 48 and the casing so that by tightening the bolts 50, the signalican be held in its-adjusted position relative to the bracket. In *Fig-JX, we, have shown in side elevation the signal and the bracket .in different relative positions. In Fig. 1X the bracket is so adjusted that it can be attached to a verticalsurface instead of'a horizontal surface. as in the other views.

In Fig. I, we have shown a diagrannmitic view of a wiring scheme for our signal. "According to this scheme, one wire from each of the solenoids, 11 is 'grounded as at. 51.

Other lines 52 --52 pass from each solenoid to apost on the switch 53. The'line Slleads froni the third post of the switch 53,'-to one terminal of a battery or source of current 55, the other tern'iinal of said battcrv is gounded as at5t3. The switch .33 is preferably locatedupon the steering coliuun'. just beneath the wheel, where it is easily accessible to'th'e driver, and it will be evident that. by manipulating this switch a/circuit will. be closed through one. or the other of the solenoids 11, energizing thesame, and lifting the'corresponding shutter. From. the solenoid 29, one line 53, leads to a contact 59 carried beneath the floor 60 of the vehicle, but insulated therefrom. The floor ofthe vehicle carries a second contact 61 which is .connectedby line 62 with the battery. The

- contacts 59'and 61 are/of spri'ng metal and cont-actfoQ is,connected by a flexible connection 63 with the brake rod 6%, so that when brake rod 6i moves forward, in applying the brakes, contacts 59 and 61 engage andthe' eircuitwill be closed through the solenoid 29, energizing the same, so as to lift the shut ter 40 to display the legend St-op? In the construction, which we have here illustrated and described, we show one means for automatically energizing the solenoid '29 when the brakes are applied. This particular arrangement is not essential to our invention. We contemplate the useofany means for closin the circuit through the solenoid 2 9, as ,within the spirit of our. in-

vention.

. From thedescription of our invention given above, the operation of thedevice.

should be very readily understood; We have already stated that the switch 53 is prefer-- ably located upon the. steering columnbeneath the wheel. By turning the switch lever to the left, the circuit will 'be closed through the solenoid 11, which actuates the left hand shutter, and similarly by turning a switch lever to thefright, the solenoid 11, which aetuates the right hand shutter, will be energized. When 'the switch lever is between these two positions, both of the shutters will remain in their normal positions, behind the display openings 2, concealing the legends behind them As both of the solenoids 11 operate in exactly the same way to actuate the shutter, we will describe the operation of but one of these. Vhen the solenoid 11 is v energized, it attractsthe outer end of the .45

armature lever 24', as shown in Fig. IV.

This armature lever24, being mounted on the pivot pin 21, is caused to rock thereon. The inner end of the lever is provided with the finger 25 working in'the slot 26 and said fingerengages beneath the .shoulder 10 of the shutter 10, as shown in Fig. III, so that the rocking of the armature lever upon its I pivot, caused by the energizing of the sole-- noid.11, lifts the'sh-utter 10 so as to display the legend upon the plate 6 through the corresponding display opening 2 in the -.face plate- The, finger- 25 since the shoulder 10 of the shutter 10 rests ried by a cal-b11262" which isibrought into the p in its normal position engages'thelowerend of the slot 26,'and' tween the bracketsl2 and the 'ends 15 of bridge 14. This holds the wires securely and prevents them from coming loose a through the jar and vibration. The .wire leading to' the solenoid 29 is similarly clamped in place.

'Aswe have already ex'plainedfthe sole; noid 29 is connectedso that when the brakes are applied, the: circuit, will be closed through the solenoid 29, and -.the1atter-will ,be energized. The end of-the armature lever 31 i attracted toward the. solenoid-,- and the end 32 of the armature lever moves upwardly. This end engages-beneath the. l e ver 33 which is pivoted to the plate 6, and the curved fulcrum end 34 thereof, engages beneath the fingeral of theshutter 40, so that the movement of the armature lever 31 lifts the shutter e0 vertically between the guide flanges 38 so asto display the legend I Stop through the display opening 3.

The rearwardly-directed circumferential flange 4 of the face plate 1 fits snugly within the forwardly-directed circumferential from the face plate by means of the sleeve .9, and the spring rod 51, the, plate 6 being;

held so spaced from the face plate'that' there is -plenty of room for the, shutters.

101O which are pivotedupon sleeve 9- to" work easily between the-face plate 1' and the platefi. v

We have already explained the manner in whichthe signal is -mounted upon the bracket 47 so that the'bracket can be mountnal will be kept with its face plate" vertical. In practice, the slgnalis usually applied to ed upon a surface at anylangle, and the siga vehicle by fastening to the left hand rear fender, but this location is not essential and we contemplate making these signals so that they .can'be attached. to the 'cap of the radiator, or in any other position upon the automobile. 4

ment of our invention,;which, we have-here shown and descr1bed,,1s susceptible of considerable variation without departing from \Ve are aware that the particular embodi--- the spirit of our invention, and therefore we do not wish-to be restricted to the specific structure here shown, except as required by the appended claims. Ve have found, however, that this particular structure is very desirable from many standpoints,

and

therefore, we desire to claim the same spe-' cifically, as well as. broaily,'as indicated by the appended claims;

H a'ving thus described our invention, what we claim a new, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent to be is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a face plate, provided with display openings therein, a plate disposed parallel to said face plate and connected thereto, said plate being provided with legends in line with said display openings, a pair of shutters pivoted and movable between the corresponding legends and certain of said display openings, guides secured to the front of said late and disposed to limit the. upward movement of said shutters, a" third shutter vertically movable between said guides and provided with a rearwardly directed finger, said plate being provided with a slot through which said finger extends, said'third shutter being movable between one of said display. openings and the corresponding legend, electromagnets carried by the plate bearing said legends, an armature lever for each electromagnet pivotally mounted on said plate,'fingers extending lateral-1y from two of said armature levers, said plate being provided with slots through which said'fingers extend beneath the lower edges of the corresponding shutters, a lever pivotally mounted on said plate, and having the end thereof engaging beneath the rearwardly directed finger of the third shutter, the third a rmature lever being disposed with the end thereof engaging beneath said lever to actuate the same, and a casing, all co-acting substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. In a'device of the class described, the combination of a face plate, provided with display openings therein, a plate disposed parallel to said face plate and connected thereto, said plate being provided with legends in line with said display openings, a pair of shutters pivoted and movable between the corresponding legends and certain of said display openings. guides secured to the front face of said plate and disposed to limit the upward movement of said shutters, a third shutter vertically movable between said guides and provided with a rearwardly directed finger. said plate being provided with a slot through which said finger extends, said third shutter being movable between one of said display openings and the corresponding legend, electromagnetic means for actuating said shutters and a casing. all co-acting substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

3. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a face plate provided with a pair of display openings, a plate provided witha pair: of dircction-indicating legends disposed in line with said display openings. :1. bolt connecting said face plate and said plate. a pair of shutters pivoted on said bolt,

and movable between said legends and said display openings, said plate being provided with' slots. electromagnets mounted on the combination of a face plate provided with a rearwardly directed peripheral flange, and provided with display openings, :1 plate carrying shutters movable behind said display openings, shutter actuating means carried by said plate, a spring metal bar disposed within said flange at the rear of said plate and extending around. the periphery thereof, a casing provided with a forwardly directed peripheral. flange fitting around the rearwardly directed flange of said face plate, fastening means passing through said flanges, and into said bar, a bracket provided with av pair of upwardly extending arms. and bolts passing through the ends of said arms and intosaid flanges and bar.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a face plate provided with a rearwardlv directed peripheral flange. and provided with display openings, a plateand carrying shutters movable behind said display openings. shutter actuating means carried by said plate. a casing'provided with a forwardly directed peripheral flange fitting around the rearwardly directed flange of said face plate. fastening means" passing through said flanges, a bracket provided with a pair of upwardly extending arms, and bolts passing through the ends of said arms and into said flanges.

6. In a device of the class described. the combination of a face plate provided with display openings. a. plate provided with legends in line with said display openings, and having a cut away portion at the bottom thereof. and a casing inclosing said parts. and provided with a vent adjacent the cut away portion of said face plate.

. 7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing. a face plate having a displayopening therein. a plate bearing a legend in line with said display opening. a pivoted shutter movable. in front of said legend, a shutter operating solenoid carried by said plate. and an armature for said solenoid engaging said shutter to rock the ame on its pivot when said solenoid is encrgized.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals.

runes K. summon. 1.8.1 LAUREN v. WHITE. 1.5.

Co fi'octions' In L ettolrs Patent No.1",21 3,456.

' It -"is hereby certifiod hat the name of the asslgnee in Letters Patent No.

1 ,213,456,' granted Janiiary 23, 1917, upon the apblication of James Burleigh and Lauren V. White, of Kalamazoo, Miohigam formn improvementinFSignaling Devices for Automobiles, was erronoouly written and printed as Arthur'L.

Zwisterfi whereas sdid name should have been writtn and printed sis Amhui' L.

Zwislr; page-2, lino 125;"of the printed specifica tiomlfor tho word goulided rei d and that s aid Letters Patent hould read with these correotions therqin that the same'may conforin to -the reoo'rd'of the oasig in the Patont Ofl'ioe.

- sigma and soalod this 13th day of Febrl is ry, 11,1911.

RI F. WHITEHEAD, Ala-Lig- Commissioner of Pm,

. [any] 

